Former transport minister Lui Tuck Yew appointed Singapore Ambassador to US

SINGAPORE: Former transport minister Lui Tuck Yew has been appointed Singapore's Ambassador to the United States, continuing his stint in the foreign service after serving as the country's top envoy in China and Japan.

Mr Lui will take up his appointment in Washington next month, replacing Mr Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, whose tenure began in 2012. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also announced on Tuesday (May 30) the appointments of Mr Ong Eng Chuan and Ms Constance See Sin Yuan as Singapore's next ambassadors to Japan and the Philippines, respectively, with both starting their new roles in June.

Mr Lui, a former chief of navy, served in the Beijing embassy from 2019 to 2023 and, before that, in Tokyo from 2017 to 2019. 

Before helming the transport ministry from 2011 to 2015, he served for two years as the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts.

MFA announced in April that Mr Peter Tan Hai Chuan would take over from Mr Lui as the Singapore Ambassador to China.

Mr Ong was MFA's Deputy Secretary (Management) from 2016 to 2023 and also previously served as Singapore's Ambassador to Belgium for four years from 2012.

Ms See, who joined MFA in 2001, was the ministry's Director-General of the Southeast Asia II Directorate from 2017 to 2023 and had previously served in the Washington embassy as First Secretary (Political).